What is wrong?
Like her brother, Aya aced the test.
Like Vs As
- AS her brother DID, Aya aced the test.*
- LIKE her brother, Aya aced the test.*
Like is a preposition. Use like to compare two nouns, pronouns or noun phrases.
As can be either a preposition or a conjunction. Use as to compare nouns or clauses.
Never use like to compare clauses.
What is wrong?
- Frank’s build, like his brother’s, is broad and muscular.*
- Frank’s build, like that of his brother. is broad and muscular.*
- Frank, like his brother, has a broad and muscular build.*
Keeping comparisons LOGICALLY parallel
All the sentences are right.
Frank’s build, like his brother’s, is broad and muscular.
We do not need to repeat the word build after brother’s - it is implied.
Frank’s build, like that of his brother. is broad and muscular.
We can also use the word that to stand for build. If the first noun were plural, we would use those instead: Frank’s toes LIKE THOSE of his brother, are short and hairy.
Frank, like his brother, has a broad and muscular build.
What is wrong?
I like to run through forests more than I enjoy walking through crowds .
Keeping comparisons ESTRUCTURALLY parallel
I like running through forests MORE THAN walking through crowds.
What is wrong?
Beethoven’s music, which broke a number of stablished rules with its structure and melodic form, is considered more revolutionary than Bach.
Keeping comparisons LOGICALLY parallel
Beethoven’s music, which broke a number of stablished rules with its structure and melodic form, is considered MORE revolutionary THAN BACH’S.
What is the being omitted in the comparisons bellow? Name the kind of the elemment omitted.
- Whereas I drink 2 quarts of milk a day, my friend drinks 3.*
- I walk faster than Brian.*
- I walk as fast now as when Iwas younger.*
Omitted words
- Whereas I drink 2 quarts of milk a day, my friend drinks 3 [quarts - unit].*
- I walk faster than Brian [walks - verb].*
- I walk as fast now as [I walk - clause] when Iwas younger.*
What is wrong?
I like cheese more than Yvette.
Omitted words
- I like cheese more than Yvette DOES. (= than Yvette likes cheese)*
- I like cheese more than IDO Yvette. (= than I like Yvette)*
Yvette could be subject or object.
You need the helping verbs to resolve the role of Yvette in the second half of the comparison.
The sentences bellow are in the comparative form. How are they in the superlative form?
- She is SHORTER than her sister.*
- You are MORE INTERESTING than he.*
- You are LESS INTERESTING than she.*
Comparative and Superlative Forms
- She is the SHORTEST of her five siblings.*
- You are the MOST INTERESTING person here.*
- You are the LEAST INTERESTING person here.*
When comparing two things, use the Comparative Form.
When comparing more than two things, use the Superlative Form.
What is wrong?
Adrian runs quicly. He runs quicker than Jacob.
Comparative and superlative form
Adrian runs QUICKLY. He runs MORE QUICKLY than Jacob.
Do not compare an adverb that ends in -ly by changing the ending to -er. Instead, add more.
Adrian runs FAST. He runs FASTER than Jacob.
However, some adverbs that do not end in -ly are made into comparatives by adding -er.
What is wrong?
- With winter coming, I will have higher energy bills*
- I will have higher bills over last year.*
Comparative and superlative forms
I will have HIGHER bills THAN last year.
Always use than with a comparative form.
The first sentence implies the comparison than now. On the GMAT, however, you must make that comparison explicit, using the word than.
What is wrong?
- A leopard cannot run as fast as a cheetah.*
- A leopard cannot catch a wildebeest as fast as a cheetah.*
- A leopard’s skill in catching a wildebeest is as impressive as a cheetah.*
Comparisons
Right: A leopard cannot run as fast as a cheetah.
Correction: A leopard cannot catch a wildebeest as fast as it can a cheetah.
A leopard cannot catch a wildebeest as fast as it can a cheetah can.
We need to resolve the ambiguity.
Correction: A leopard’s skill in catching a wildebeest is as impressive as a cheetah’s.
A leopard’s skill in catching a wildebeest is as impressive as that of a cheetah.
We need to compare things logically parallel.
What is wrong?
- The clothes looked more appealing inside the store than on the racks outside.*
- The clothes inside the store looked more appealing than on the racks outside.*
Comparisons
The clothes looked more appealing inside the store than on the racks outside.
CORRECT. The sentence compares how some clothes looked inside the store with how the same clothes looked on the racks outside.
This sentence actually is a form of correcting the second.
The second sentence seems to compare some clothes (The clothes inside the store) to a location (on the racks outside)
Another way: The clothes inside the store looked more appealin,g than (did) those on the racks outside.
What is wrong?
Thomas is more interested in video games than his girlfriend.
Comparisons
This sentence is ambiguous.
Correction (a): Thomas is more interested in video games than his girlfriend is.
Correction (b): Thomas is more interested in video games than (he is) in his girlfriend.
What is wrong?
Hugo is widely acknowledged to be our best employee, because he works harder and more creatively than anyone else in the company.
Comparisons
- CORRECT.*
- In the first clause Hugo is being singled out from among a group (our … employee(s)) , so we must use a superlative (best) to modify employee.*
- In the second clause there is a comparison between A and B, so we must use comparative rather than superlative forms. (The comparison is between how he works and how anyone else in the company (works).)*
- The comparative form of the adverb creatively is more creatively. The comparative form of the adverb harder is simply harder, because harder is a short adverb that does not end in -ly.*
What is wrong?
Juggling is a favorite pastime for me, like for you.
Comparisons
- Juggling is a favorite pastime for me, AS for you.*
like is incorrectly followed by the prepositional phrase for you. Like can only be followed by a noun or noun phrase.
Juggling is a favorite pastime for me, as it is for you.
You can also change the second term of the comparison to a clause. Notice the parallelism in the verb is.
